The White Sox's biggest Chris Cornell fan, Anthony Swarzak, has reverted back to his dominant early season form. He's riding seven straight scoreless appearances, in which he's struck out 11 of the 25 batters he's faced and allowed just five baserunners in seven innings. For the year, the 31-year-old right-hander is rocking a 2.52 ERA and a career-high 27.5 percent strikeout rate in 39 1/3 innings, which along with his pending free agency, makes him a popular topic of discussion around the trade deadline. He talked about that, the ebbs and flows of a reliever's season, and finally having enough rope to hang himself.

JF: Rick Renteria noted you've had good life on your fastball the last few times out, are you feeling that way too?

AS: I think pitchers just go through stretches just like hitters do. The really good ones, their good stretches last a little longer than everybody else's. Right now I'm just getting back to basics and my timing's really well right now and the ball's coming out better.

JF: Do you think you max out for velocity more now that you're working in short relief than any point in your career?

AS: I think it has a little bit to do with that. I think short stints are always good for your arm because you're going to throw harder for longer. This is really the first time in my career that I've had this opportunity to throw one inning, a couple outs per day. It's really working for me. My body is responding well. My stuff is maintaining throughout outings. It's been fun. It's been fun to try something else.

JF: Renteria seems like he tries to get you a couple days off in a row after any rough stretches. Do you feel a couple days off returns some sharpness?

AS: Oh yeah. Getting a few days off is most of the time a good thing. Any time you can get some rest and get your legs back under you and just evaluate what's going on and where you're at in a season, it's always good.

JF: I had a scout tell me to keep an eye on the finish of your delivery; that when you fall off the mound toward the first base side it gives you more run and tilt on your pitches. Does the way you finish give you more movement like that?

AS: Yeah, absolutely. So what he's saying is I'm pulling off to the left, and when I pull off to the left, the ball's probably going to go to the right. That's just what happens. I'm getting a lot of run right now. My ball's always kind of moved a lot anyway but right now everything is kind of clicking.

JF: Is that something you're consciously trying to push right now?

AS: No, nothing like that. It just happens. When I'm throwing my best, the ball doesn't move as much, which is weird.

JF: Like when you're locating your best?

AS: Like when the ball is coming out the best. So your first question was is the ball coming out better, it's getting by people, essentially the other night. It's because it's not moving as much. It's a little harder, a little straighter, a little longer, and it just kind of gets by somebody. When the ball's moving a lot, that means I'm pulling off the ball a lot, and like what the scout said, it's not good all the time because you don't know where that ball's going to end up. I might get lucky, if it's moving they might swing and miss at it, but because it's moving so much, I don't know where it's going to end up.

Relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak has pitched mostly in the sixth and seventh innings in his first season with the White Sox. (Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports)

JF: So you need to find a balance between command and movement and getting the crazy run on it?

AS: Exactly.

JF: With free agency coming, did you go into this year prepared for the fact that if you pitched well, other teams are going to be calling after you?

AS: I'm not worried about teams calling after me as much as I'm worried about pitching for the White Sox. I really like it here. My day-to-day routine here just seems fitting. I would like this to continue. If it doesn't, obviously you want to put yourself in a situation to pitch in the big leagues next year, with whoever that may be. But right now I want to enjoy my time here before I think about my next step.

JF: You've been in the majors a long time, but is your routine here different with Don Cooper or mostly the same?

AS: It's relatively the same, but the focus level is higher. I don't know if that makes sense. It's a combination of me wanting to challenge myself everyday and stay a little more even-keeled this year than I have in other years. As far as one thing or one person, I can't really put my finger on that.

JF: You've started and done long relief and short relief too, but have you ever been a seventh- and eighth-inning setup guy like you are here before?

AS: I have not, no. I've had opportunities. I had a few outings here and there over the years. Some went good, some went bad, but it was never…I never really got enough room with the rope to hang yourself, if that makes sense. It was always like, ‘Well, we don't have our seventh inning guy today, let's see if Swarzy can fill in for us,' and then it didn't quite go as planned, and so, ‘All right, he's out.' Next time it's, ‘Well, we gave him a shot, let's try somebody else.' That's kind of how it always was. If I had a good outing, I didn't really follow it up with another good outing. So that's what I wanted to do this year was try to be more consistent. The opportunity arose where I got a chance to throw in some bigger situations and I'm doing well.

(Top photo by Brad Rempel/USA TODAY Sports)

By the way, if you enjoyed this story, please consider supporting us. Your support will help us continue to bring you
just the best sports coverage each day and remain ad-free - all for less than $5 per month. Support us now and get 20% off.

James Fegan is the lead writer and reporter on the White Sox for The Athletic Chicago. Previously James founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of BP South Side, and his work has appeared in Baseball Prospectus, ESPN SweetSpot, The Rock River Times and Athlete's Quarterly. Follow James on Twitter @JRFegan. If you liked this story, subscribe today for access to all of our ad-free content. Plans start at just $4.99 per month.